French Toast Casserole, a perfect breakfast for our family.  I recently shared the new KitchenAid Recipe Collection Cookbook with you and now want to share one of the recipes.  I truly love love love this cookbook.   There are so many wonderful, easy recipes that I can’t seem to decide what to make.   I chose this because a pretty sweet gal I know recommended it and because we are huge breakfast eaters around here.  It’s the one meal I insist that we all eat to insure a full, energy filled day.

The recipe was extremely easy to make.  I love that you can prepare it ahead and then bake that morning.  In fact, in my opinion, I’d actually bake the night before and let it sit overnight.  While it was GREAT out of the oven, we loved it even more once it had cooled off completely.  This made a huge pan full and was plenty for our family of 5.

Another great reason why I love my KitchenAid Refrigerator!  That pull out tray is the handiest thing ever!!

It was a little overdone. I have a horrible oven from the 70′s so I can never bake anything right but no matter ’cause it tasted delicious!!!  We totally give it 5 stars.

Hope your morning is just as delicious as ours was!

Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day so please don’t skip out on it!  It’s what gives you that much needed boost to get going and last through the morning.  I know that everyone is still struggling due to the economy so here are a few budget friendly breakfast ideas to get you going.

1. Have a piece of casserole. It takes time to cook eggs and bacon for breakfast. No one wants to ruin their clothes with the mess it can create. On Sunday night, get breakfast done early. Put together a casserole using your favorite ingredients. Fewer eggs are needed in a casserole than when frying or scrambling them for breakfast each morning. Depending on the size of your family, the casserole may last two to three mornings.

2. Yogurt. Yogurt is a healthy breakfast choice. When you are eating on the run, grab a container of yogurt and some dried or fresh fruit. Cutting up fruit on top of the yogurt adds carbohydrates to fuel you for the morning in addition to the calcium and protein in the yogurt itself.

3. Breakfast shake. This is even quicker and can be ingested while driving without taking your eyes off the road or both hands off the wheel. Put together some frozen fruit favorites, ice cubes, frozen yogurt, and unsweetened juice in a blender. Pour into Styrofoam cups to keep it cold. Everyone can grab a cup on the way out the door. The nutritional effect is about the same as yogurt, but without the spoon.

4. Pigs in a blanket. This is the homemade version. Whip up a batch of pancakes and freeze them in short stacks of three. A package or two of frozen link sausage is needed to create this quick and economical meal idea. Thaw out a stack of pancakes. Heat up three sausages in the microwave. Wrap a pancake around each sausage. Voila! You’ve got an instant pig in a blanket. Eat it as you watch the last of your favorite morning show or as you walk to the bus stop. It can be eaten in the car without too much fuss or mess. For a sweeter taste and less mess, add a little maple syrup or honey to the batter when making the pancakes.

5. Breakfast sandwiches. In the evening, while you are getting things ready for the next day, grill up a few breakfast sandwiches. Choose whatever you like: turkey slices, ham slices, cheese, tomato, bacon, etc. When the sandwich cools, cut it into bite size pieces and put it in a container. In the morning, just grab a container; pop it into the microwave for fifteen or twenty seconds and breakfast is served.

Most of these ideas use basic ingredients that are kept in every kitchen so you’ll be saving money too.  Do you have a favorite budget friendly recipe to share?

It’s that time of the month where we are on rations.  The pantry is stocked with basics and very little of anything else.   I’ve learned over the years that you can turn anything into a casserole.  While I’m sure others have made this recipe in a similar fashion, I myself have no clue what to call it.  I will say, it turned out pretty good, with no leftovers.

Now focus on the casserole baking dish for just  sec.  It’s beautiful, it’s perfect, it’s Le Creuset.  There’s a reason people love to want these cooking pieces and it’s because they are built with quality, are made in beautiful colors, and cook very well–evenly.  I absolutely love it.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef
• 2 cups corn
• 2 cans ranch style beans
• 1 1/2 cups of Kraft Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1 can of Ro*tel ( you can also use a packet of taco seasoning as  sub)
• 2 cup of biscuit baking mix
• 1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS

Cook Rotel and ground beef in skillet until done; add corn, beans, 1/2 cup of cheese and mix together.  Pour mixture into baking casserole dish.  In a small bowl, mix baking mix and water and pour over the meat/bean mixture in casserole dish.  Top with cheese and bake for 25 minutes at 375′.

Just another side dish, nothing fancy.  You can substitute the Velveeta cheese with something else.  I used a little bit of Mexican cheese instead myself.  Be on the lookout for an iPod Touch giveaway here or on my cowboy blog ’cause it’s coming soon! Might be better to subscribe;)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pkg. frozen chopped broccoli & cauliflower
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 can of cream of chicken
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1/4 lb. Velveeta
• 1 1/2 c. cooked rice
• salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Saute onion in butter.  Add soup to onion, then add Velveeta cheese and milk.  cook until cheese melts.  Fold in cooked rice.  Cook broccoli and add to cheese mixture.  Pour into greased baking dish, cover and cook at 325′ for 30 minutes.

TIP: I usually start cooking my rice and during the last 5 minutes, throw in the broccoli, then drain.

Paula Deen’s recipes are the best and this one is no exception.  My internet has been down for over a day so hopefully things will get back to normal soon!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 10-oz packages of frozen leaf spinach (thawed and drained)
• 1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp grated yellow onion
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups whole milk (“Not 1% or 2%,” says Paula.)
• 1 cup (1/4 lb) grated Swiss cheese
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• pinch of garlic powder
• dash of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 pounds fresh crab meat, picked through twice for shells
• 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

PREPARATION

Preheat the broiler. Butter a shallow 2-quart baking dish or eight ovenproof individual ramekins.  In a 12” skillet over medium heat, saute the spinach in 2 tbsp of the butter with the garlic and onion for 3 minutes. Drain the spinach mixture and chop finely. Transfer the spinach into the baking dish.  In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tbsp of the butter. Stir in the flour and whisk until smooth. Reduce heat to low and gradually add the milk, stirring constantly with a spoon until smooth and thickened; this should take 8 to 10 minutes. Once the sauce is thickened, add the cheese, half and half, lemon juice, garlic powder, nutmeg, salt and cayenne. Cook over low heat until thickened again, about 10 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and carefully fold in the crab meat.  Pour the mixture evenly over the spinach. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and dot with the remaining 2 tbsp butter (you may need more bread crumbs if you’re preparing individual servings).  Broil about 5 minutes, until browned.  Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

NOTE: If you’re making this ahead of time, skip the broiler. After you top off the breadcrumbs with the butter, cover and refrigerate. When you’re ready to cook uncover and bake for about 30 minutes or until bubbly in a pre-heated 350º oven. Then change the oven setting to “Broil” and broil the top for about 5 minutes.

EDITED:  I did win 1st place and was featured in the Taste of Home quarterly magazine! WOOHOO!

Voting began Thursday, October 30th and goes until Nov. 23rd!!!  I’m sharing my Shrimp Stroganoff recipe with you guys today!!  This is the recipe that I submitted into the Velveeta Casserole Challenge and I’m hoping that you all think it’s great enough to vote for!  In fact, you need to stay tuned because I’ll be having some wonderful prizes to hand out during the challenge weeks.

As I’ve said before, I chose to make this easy and fast so with that said, here’s the recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1lb. Uncooked, deveined shrimp
• 4 cups of fresh broccoli florets
• 12oz bag of Egg Noodles
• 9oz Sour Cream
• 16oz Kraft Velveeta Cheese (half of the big 32oz box)
• 1 can Campbell’s Cream of Shrimp

DIRECTIONS:

Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Drain and toss in broccoli & shrimp. Pour into a 13×9 casserole dish. In a saucepan, add Velveeta cheese, cream of shrimp, and sour cream until melted together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour on top of noodle mixture and bake at 350’ for 25 minutes.

Super easy and super tasty!

I’m working with Velveeta at the moment so I thought a Chicken Fajita Burrito Casserole using Velveeta would be a great post!  And don’t forget to cut the cheese with me using Velveeta cheese!

I used red and green bell pepper to give it some color and flavor.  I used store bought tortillas which are fine but next time I will make my homemade flour tortillas for a better taste!  Slighty more work that I usually post here but it’s well worth it!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1pkg flour tortillas
• 1 8oz. Velveeta Mexican Mild Cheese
• 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken breasts
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 onion, well half really
• 1 can of cream of chicken
• 1/4 milk
• 1 can of black beans

You will also need the ingredients to make the Easy Spanish Rice! This consists of brown rice, salsa,  and butter.

DIRECTIONS:

Start boiling your chicken.  While chicken is boiling, chop up your onion and bell peppers; adding them to the chicken and boil until chicken is done.  In a saucepan, melt your Velveeta cheese with the cream of chicken and about 1/4 of milk over low heat. (saving and shredding some to add to the fajita burritos.) This will be the cheese sauce. While that is melting, take your chicken and peppers out of the boiling stock and let cool.  Add the brown rice & it’s ingredients to the stock that you boiled the chicken in.  Once your rice is done, spread it in a 9×13 casserole dish.  Pour the can of black beans on top. Or you can just mix the beans up with the rice!

Shred your chicken up and starting making your fajita burritos adding a little of the shredded velveeta or some of the cheese sauce inside.  Fold up and lay on top of the rice and beans.  Now pour the Velveeta Cheese sauce all on top of the burritos making sure to get it all covered.  Bake in oven for about  15-20 minutes at 350′.

This should serve 8 depending on your crew’s appetite!

I am so excited to announce that I was one of 5 bloggers chosen to participate in the Velveeta Casserole Challenge by KRAFT!!! (Link won’t be live until Oct. 13th or so)  In the meantime, you guys can go read all about Velveeta and the recipes.

So what’s the Velveeta Casserole Challenge all about?

Each blogger was asked to create a casserole recipe, using Kraft Velveeta Cheese that can serve 8 with ingredients that can be bought for $20 or less.

Only 5 bloggers were included in Kraft’s Velveeta Cheese Casserole contest.  Me and the other contestants will develop an original casserole recipe using Velveeta Cheese. Each blogger will post their recipe along with photos of the ingredients, the process, and the final dish and include a scanned copy of the receipt to prove the ingredients did in fact cost $20 or less. Later on, we can then ask for votes where the winner with the most votes will win a set of Chef’s Collection Stainless Steel Cookware by Cuisinart as well as a $500 grocery store gift card.  OH YEAH BABY!

HOW DID I COME UP WITH MY RECIPE?

When I hear Kraft, I think of easy, fast, low-cost, and family friendly recipes.  Because I know that a HUGE chunk of my readers are hard working moms and dads with very little time to cook, I created a very simple recipe that can be cooked in under 30 minutes!  Having only 6 ingredients, you might be led to believe that it’s too simple but I guarantee you it’s filled with flavor!   More on the actual recipe later;)  WHAT?!  I don’t want to spill it all in only one post!..LOL

How YOU can join in some fun!

I’ve created a youtube group where you can cut the cheese with me using KRAFT! You can learn more by visiting that link!  There’s a prize involved;)  Oh, and if you don’t do videos, try the flickr group

Okay guys, that’s all for now!  I hope to have my internet up and running within the next couple of days so please hang in there.  I promise I’ll be back online soon!

There must be a million cookbooks out there but in this gift guide, you’ll find some you recognize and some you won’t.  I encourage you browse them and find one that’s perfect for your recipient.

I am only including images for the cookbook section.  The reason is, if the cover can’t spark your interest, chances are the recipes won’t either;)

Back to the 2008 Holiday Gift Guide Table of Contents

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Texas Hometown Cookbook

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Sirens Feast Edible Odyssey

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Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry

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Georgia Hometown Cookbook

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Carmine’s Family Style Cookbook

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A South Florida Culinary Adventure

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Casserole Crazy

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The Little Black Apron

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The Tea Drinker’s Handbook

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500 Fast 5-ingredient Recipes

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Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make

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Alton Brown’s Gear for Your Kitchen

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The Best of Bloodroot Volume 1: Vegetarian Recipes

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Quick & Healthy Recipes and Ideas

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O, The Oprah Magazine Cookbook

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Cookbook Maker

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The Cast Iron Way To Cook

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Back to the 2008 Holiday Gift Guide Table of Contents